Standard Oil

(Oil’s Well That Ends Well)
A gusher from 1907
Words by F. L. Hill
Music by A. W. Scheu


The sheet music:


Accompaniment by Denese Coulbeck:


Lyrics

  1. United States is all a flame
    They say that “feller” is to blame
    Or, is that just the thing to say
    When he has all the fines to pay
    I’m sure I know how you’d finance
    If you could get “next” to the chance
    It’s just as plain as A. B. C.
    You’d do the same as “Johnny D.”

Chorus
Oil, oil, oil has got us in its toil
But Teddy says the trusts have got to go
And when this man behind
Gets a thing in his mind
You can bet your bottom dollar ’twill be so

  1. Now “Rockefeller” is no fool
    For long ago he went to school
    And learned to read and write and spell
    And some words looked like O-I-L
    S-T-A-N-D-A-R-D
    Another word he liked to see
    They looked so good to “Johnny D.”
    He added on the Come-“pay”-ny
  2. Some States appear to hold their breath
    While others aim to cause the death
    Of this “Oil wagon” called a trust
    Which surely will be hard to bust
    And if it busts I think they’ll find
    The same old thing bob up behind
    Yes surely we are in the toil
    Of everlasting Standard Oil
  3. But who can tell now if you please
    Just how much oil twill take to grease
    The track that causes things to slide
    Around the bend or to the side?
    We know there’s “fingers in the pie”
    This is a truth we can’t deny
    There’s others who will share the spoil
    Of what is called the Standard Oil

(more verses on the sheet music)